Taking A Chance
by WildFlower084
Summary: aka The Proposal. [VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE IN CHAPTER 3] They have been together for a year and Booth is taking a chance. [COMPLETE!]
1. Decision Taken

**A/N: First chapter of the new version of this story!**

* * *

"Booth!" Temperance squealed as she felt her boyfriend of one-year pull her close towards him.

"What?" Booth replied, pressing his lips to her temple.

"Not here."

It was obvious what he wanted but Temperance wasn't ready to give it to him at the moment. After all, they _were_ in her office with anybody who could walk in at any moment. She told him so. She felt him shake his head.

"I closed the door and locked it." He said.

"The windows..."

"Aren't see-through anymore, Bones. You switched offices, remember?"

Temperance groaned. She turned around in his arms and linked her own around his neck. She pulled him closer until the lips were a hair's breath away.

"Excuses. Always excuses."

She felt her partner smile against her lips.

"Of course."

Their lips met and the kiss immediately grew in passion. Booth pulled her even closer to him, if that was possible, as he felt his girlfriend's hands run through his hair. He shivered, loving the feel of it. Eventually, they both pulled away, breathless. Resting his forehead on hers, he sighed happily.

"I missed this." He whispered.

Temperance nodded.

"One week was a long time, huh?"

"I missed you a lot in Seattle, alone in my bed."

"Could have called me." She replied, teasingly.

Booth pulled back and looked at her, surprised.

"I didn't think phonesex was your type of thing."

Temperance pulled him back to her and kissed him quickly.

"No but it could have become."

Booth groaned loudly before bringing his lips back onto hers once again. Clothing was starting to come off when a loud ring interrupted their activities. Groaning this time in frustration, Booth snatched his cellphone from his belt, flipped it open and put it to his ear.

"Booth." He barked into the phone, ignoring the giggle coming from his partner.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

"Sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to answer like that... Oh... Okay. We'll be right there."

Flipping it shut, he put back on his belt. Temperance was looking at him expectantly.

"New case." He growled.

In an instant, Temperance was letting go of him and grabbing her coat. She opened the door and was about to walk out when she realized Booth wasn't following her. She turned around and looked at him questioningly.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

"I just need a few seconds to... you know... calm _down._"

His emphasis on the word _down_ made her blush. She nodded, slightly embarrassed.

"Okay." She replied, a smile tugging at her lips.

* * *

The drive to the crime scene was awfully quiet. Temperance went over the file they had stopped to grab at the Bureau on their way to the crime scene. She flipped through the pages.

"There's not much to go on. Bones were discovered at the bottom of an empty well by a ground's keeper. By the looks of it, the skeleton seems complete." Booth told her.

"I can read, Booth." She replied. "Like you said, there's not much to go on. How did the man even find it?"

"The well has been used as a dumpster for the past few years now. It stocked up on garbage and it's nearly half-full today. The man was simply examining the well to make sure, you know, that there was still space to dump his own stuff when he spotted a complete skeleton laying at the top of the pile."

"Hmm."

"That's what I thought too."

They pulled into a parking lot several minutes later. Climbing out of the SUV, Temperance looked around. She had been here before with Booth, she remembered. For a picnic. She just didn't remember ever seeing a well.

She let her boyfriend guide her through the area she knew so well. He led her to a small patch of trees on the other side of the park where Temperance could already see yellow tape surrounding it. Temperance knew it wouldn't be long before the press got here and she didn't feel like working under observation. She quickened the pace.

"Hurried to finish this so we can go back to something more fun?" Booth asked, trying to keep up with her.

"No." She replied, not getting his insinuation. "I just don't want to work with a bunch of cameramen filming me."

"Of course." Booth replied, dropping the subject.

Seconds later, they were reaching the well.

* * *

He couldn't believe how long he could stand there, looking at her work. Leaning back against a tree, he watched her bark orders left and right to ensure that the skeleton wasn't damaged during its excavation. He smiled as she rolled her eyes after an officer asked her what she thought was a stupid question. He chuckled under his breath.

He didn't move, simply followed her every move with his eyes. He felt his heart swell in painful happiness. God he loved her, more than anything else in this entire world. He hadn't felt anything so strong after Rebecca.

She moved her hair out of her face and he saw it: the scar. The scar she had gotten a few months earlier. He could still remember the fear that had swept through him when he had learned that she had been abducted. The guy had been a psycho and, fortunately for the both of them, he had found his girlfriend barely forty-eight hours after she had disappeared. She had been in horrible condition and had spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and at home, off work, to recover.

Booth realized that he was shaking and clutching at his pants, trying his best to control his anger. Someone had touched Bones, _his_ Bones. Someone had touched in places that only _he_ was aloud to. It had taken weeks before Temperance had been able to let him near again. Five very painful weeks.

She looked up at him and told him something but Booth didn't hear it. Her words were coming to him in muffled sounds, too focused on her beauty to listen to a word she was saying. He saw her rolled her eyes, at him this time, which snapped him back to reality.

"What? Sorry, I wasn't listening."

"I saw that." She replied. "I was saying that..."

He listened to the sound of her voice but necessarily to the words she was saying. He nodded, pretending to listen. When she was finished, she turned back to the remains and resumed her examination. He had to fight his urge to simply pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless. But he wouldn't. She'd kick his ass if he did.

He realized, during the past week he had spent away from her, that he couldn't live without her and that he didn't even want to try. He had taken a decision in Seattle and today, as he watched her work, he made up his mind once again. They had only been going out for a year but he felt like he had known her for ever. They had talked about that before, how she was against marriage, but maybe she had changed her mind about it. It was worth the shot. Her birthday was in a week and, on that day, he would propose.


	2. Second Thoughts

**A/N: Second chapter of the new version of this story.**

* * *

The halls of the museum were awfully quiet as Booth made his way to the lab. The weather was really nice, the sun had stopped playing hide-and-seek with Washington and the clouds had practically disappeared. It didn't surprise the agent that people would rather be outside enjoying the sun while they could than be stuck inside a museum.

The sliding doors opened and Booth stepped in the lab. The Medico-Legal Lab was already buzzing with activity and Booth almost hated disturbing them when he had no specific reason to be there. After all, he could have just called. There was no need to actually come down. He was about to walk back out the doors when the sound of his name stopped him.

"Agent Booth!"

He turned to see his girlfriend's boss walking towards him.

"Hey hey, Dr. Goodman!"

The archeologist stopped in front of him.

"Are you here for Dr. Brennan?" he asked. "Because she's really busy at the moment."

Booth shook his head.

"No, actually, I'm here for Angela."

"Angela?" Dr. Goodman asked, surprised. "Why Miss Montenegro?"

"Oh..." Booth replied, unsure of what to say. "Um... I need her to meet with a victim down at the Bureau. Our sketch artist is sick and we need a replacement."

Goodman nodded, satisfied by the answer.

"Well if Miss Montenegro isn't too busy, I'll be happy to let you have her for the afternoon."

"Thank you, Sir." Booth replied. "Would you happen to know where I could find her?"

"She's in her office with Dr. Brennan."

Booth thanked him before excusing himself.

He jogged down to Angela's office only to stop abruptly at the door once again at the sound of his name.

"So how are things with you and Booth?" He heard Angela ask.

There was a small moment of silence during which Booth held his breath. They rarely talked about their relationship and Booth was curious to find out how Temperance felt about it.

"It's okay."

Her answer disappointed him.

"Just okay?"

Angela's tone told him that she was as disappointed as him.

"Well, what else do you want me to say, Ange?"

"I don't know but I expected more than just 'it's okay'."

Another pause in the conversation.

"Things are great, Ange. More than I expected it to be. Are you happy now?"

"Well when you put _that_ way!" Angela replied, sarcastically. "But you're thinking of how he acted after your abduction?"

Temperance nodded.

"He was just so caring and so patient with me. Nobody has ever been like that with me."

"That's because he loves you, sweetie. I don't know many guys who would wait three months for a woman to be comfortable enough to start having sex with him again. My boyfriend has trouble waiting a week every month."

Temperance chuckled softly and blushed slightly.

"Yeah. It's not only your boyfriend." She replied.

Having heard enough and wanting to stop a possible Angela-investigation, Booth stepped in the door and knocked softly. Both girls looked up, startled. A large smile spread over Temperance's face and Booth couldn't help being happy that he was the one making her smile like that.

He walked over to her and leaned closer.

"Hey you." He whispered before claiming her lips with his.

The kiss lasted several seconds before Angela felt the need to break it off.

"Let's keep it PG, people." She said as tongues began to make appearances.

"Sorry Ange." Temperance said, breathlessly after pulling away.

"No worries." Angela replied, fighting the grin that threatened to spread on her face.

"What's up?" Temperance then asked, switching her attention back to her boyfriend.

"I need to speak to Angela, if you don't mind." Booth replied, looking up at the artist. "In the hallway."

Frowning, Angela got up and followed the agent out in the hallway, leaving a puzzled anthropologist behind them. She then followed him further from the door.

Once they were out of earshot, Booth stopped and turned to his friend.

"I need you to do me a favor." Booth started, directly. "What time are you taking your lunchbreak at?"

Angela looked surprised. Booth ignored it.

"Umm... I don't know. One maybe?"

"Okay great." Booth replied, clapping his hands together. "I'll pick you up at one. Oh, bring your lunch!"

He was about to walk away when Angela grabbed his arm.

"Do you mind telling me what you're up to?" She asked.

"Uh yes, actually. I do. Listen, if Bones asks you where you're going, just tell her that you're going down to the Bureau to replace our sketch artist."

She opened her mouth to protest but she changed her mind. Instead, she nodded and walked back to her office.

Satisfied and somewhat relieved, Booth made his way back to the parking lot.

* * *

"_Now_ do you mind telling me what you're up to?" Angela asked as she unwrapped her sandwich and placed it on her lap while Booth drove out of the museum's parking lot.

"You'll see when we get there." Booth replied, calmly.

Angela rolled her eyes in a very Brennan manner. Booth smiled.

"Fine." She replied, sighing. "And just so you know, I didn't enjoy lying to my best friend."

Booth chuckled.

"Trust me, you'll change your mind when you'll find out why you're with me."

Booth turned onto a quieter road, making Angela quite perplexed.

"Joan's Jewelry Store?" Angela asked, even more confused.

"It's the nicest shop in all Washington." Booth replied, proudly, looking up at the sign over the door. "Expensive, but really nice."

"And _why_ are we here?"

Booth opened the door and the artist stepped inside the small shop, Booth following behind her. A woman walked out a backroom and went to stand behind the counter. Booth nodded politely in her direction and the young woman smiled in return.

"Next week, it's Bones' birthday and I wasn't quite sure what to get her. Yesterday, at the crime scene, I finally found something."

Angela looked at him, confused.

"You do know Bren's not much into jewelry, right?"

"I know. But I'm not getting her jewelry."

Angela frowned.

"Then why are we here? More importantly, why am _I_ here?"

Grabbing her by the hand, Booth led her to the left corner of the small rustic shop. Angela's eyes immediately fell on the sparkling rings in front of her. She gasted as the reason why they were here dawned on her.

"So?" Booth asked, expectantly. "Which ring do you think she would like?"

* * *

The search for the perfect ring barely took thirty minutes. Angela had helped him immensely (despite all the squealing every time he showed her a ring) and she seemed to love the one he had picked out in the end. As they walked out the store, Booth could feel his heart racing in his chest. He had bought a ring. He had bought a ring for his girlfriend to whom he was going to propose. He was happy when they reached the SUV. He needed to sit down.

They climbed in and, after buckling up, left for the Jeffersonian.

"I still can't believe you're going to propose." Angela said, after a few minutes of silence.

Her voice sounded different but Booth didn't think much of it.

"I know."

"I mean, you're _really _going to propose."

"Yup." Booth replied, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

Angela looked outside, suddenly feeling apprehensive. She knew that she should be honest with him and tell him wha she really thought about this now that she had calmed down but a part of her didn't. He looked so happy about his decision that she felt bad to have to bring him down from his 'high'.

"Angela? What's the matter?" he asked, unable to ignore his friend's change of mood anymore.

Angela sighed before facing him.

"Have you even thought this through? I mean, you _are_ being a bit impulsive and it is a big thing."

Booth shrugged.

"That's what I want so why not? I love her, she loves me. What more is there to say?"

"I wish I could say you're right but you're not. This is Brennan we're talking about. If it were any other woman then I'd say give it a shot but it's not. It's Tempe. She doesn't even believe in marriage. She doesn't even want to have kids but I know that you do. You two are so different. Do you even think it would work out? A marriage finalizes everything. There's no turning bakc afterwards."

Booth paused before answering. He knew Angela had a point.

"When I was in Seattle," he started, "all I could do was think of her and how I missed her. I never missed anyone as much as I missed her and I was only gone for a week. That's when I first thought about proposing."

Angela looked truly surprised.

"That's what made you decide that? The fact that you missed her?"

"No." Booth replied, irritated.

He didn't understand why Angela had suddenly gotten a change of heart about the whole thing when she had been so excited about it not even fifteen minutes earlier.

"There's not only that. I love her with all my heart and I don't want to be with anybody else. You don't know how hard it was for me when she was abducted."

Angela opened her mouth to reply but Booth cut her off.

"No, let me finish. I was really scared, more scared than I have ever been in my entire life. The whole thing, I was convinced that I wasn't going to see her again."

"You don't have to say anything, Booth. I know how tough it was for you. You don't have to talk about it."

"I have to, Angela. I haven't talked to anybody about this."

"Okay."

Booth cleared his throat.

"She only disappeared for like forty-eight hours but, to me, it felt more like forty-eight days. When I found her, all tied up and bleeding, I thought I was going to die. And when I found out what that asshole had done to her, it took a lot of convincing on her part to keep me from going after him and killing him with myself."

Angela saw him clutch the steering wheel and watched as his knuckles turned white.

"What happened to her back then? She always remained vague on the details with me. He didn't rape her, did he?"

Booth swallowed.

"No." He replied, after a few seconds. "He did touch her but I can't say we could really call that rape. It was more like a sexual assault. Anyway, it scared her a whole lot and wouldn't even let me near her for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"Five weeks."

Angela nodded.

"So you see Ange, it's not just the fact that I love her and that I can't live without her that makes me want to marry her. I just want to be there with her, to protect her, to love her and to make sure that she's okay, for the rest of my life."

"Well when you put it that way..." Angela replied, smiling. "But Booth, I don't doubt your love for her. I just think that maybe you should think about this a little bit more. Talk to her about marriage once again and see what she has to say. And if after that you still want to marry her than I'm not one to stop you."

Booth padded the little box in his front pocket.

"A little late for that advice, Ange. I already bought the ring."

Angela shrugged.

"You can always bring it back."

Booth looked at her and rolled his eyes.


	3. Beliefs Confirmed

**A/N: Finally! I was able to update this story! Sorry about the delay but I've been busy and in a writer's block for the past week. Hopefully this chapter will satisfy everybody! Don't forget to review on your way out. ;-)**

**Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the characters are not necessarily my opinions as well.**

**I'd also like to apologize for this one expression that I don't think is said in English that I might have translated from French. If so, sorry.**

* * *

Laying on his back on his bed, the words echoes in his mind as he twirled the ring between his fingers. 

"_Have you even thought this through? I mean, you are being a bit impulsive and it is a big thing."_

"_This is Brennan we're talking about. If it were any other woman then I'd say give it a shot but it's not. It's Tempe. She doesn't even believe in marriage."_

"_I just think that maybe you should think about this a little bit more. Talk to her about marriage once again and see what she has to say. And if after that you still want to marry her than I'm not one to stop you."_

He knew Angela had been right but he just didn't want to admit it. To admit it would be to admit that he was scared she'd say no, a possibility he just didn't want to think about. He didn't think he could face her rejection, especially after all they had been through together.

He glanced at the clock: 7:30 pm. He knew not to expect his girlfriend until, at least, eight. If dating him had taught Temperance one thing, Booth knew that it wasn't working less. She still worked impossible hours, leaving early in the morning and coming back late at night. Booth doubted that, if it weren't for working with her, he'd ever spend time with her.

Maybe Angela was right after all. Maybe them being married wouldn't work out. To be married, you needed to make compromises and sacrifices. He was willing to make sacrifices, to do anything it took to make their relationship work but he wasn't sure Temperance was willing to do the same. Their relationship had been somewhat smooth sailing since they have started dating, excluding, maybe, the first few weeks after her abduction. He wasn't sure, if things got a bit bumpy, that Temperance would stay but nor did he think she would leave. Then again, they had never been in such a situation but his girlfriend always managed to surprise him when he least expected it.

He sighed as he continued to twirl the ring between his fingers and examined the diamond. He watched it sparkle asit caught one of the last rays of sunlight before the sun set completely for the night. That ring had cost him a lot of money, more money than he had expected to spend on a ring. But when he had seen it, he had seen Temperance in it and the ring had just seemed to scream out to him to buy it. It was then that he had been certain that this particular ring was the perfect one.

In a perfect world, one where Angela wouldn't have said those things to him, he could easily see Temperance saying yes to him when he'd show her the ring. But now, the perfect little image he had made in his mind had been shattered in thousands of little pieces.

_Damn Angela._ He muttered to himself.

Getting up, he decided that he couldn't blame Angela. She had only spoken the truth and he should respect her for that. After all, as much as he hated to admit it, she had been right about one thing: he _was_ being impulsive.

He heard the front door open and he looked quickly at the clock. Only five minutes had passed. Was Temperance home so early? He placed the little box back into the front pocket of his shirt, the one he hadn't bothered to change when he got home, and walked out of his bedroom.

"I'm home!" He heard her say from the front door.

"Hey." He said as he stepped into the living room from the kitchen.

She smiled at him as she took off her shoes and joined him. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. When they finally pulled away, he couldn't help but smile at her. The dreading feeling he hadexperienced earlier had been completely washed away by the kiss. As he stared in her eyes, he wondered how he could have ever doubted their relationship.

"You're home early." He stated, his arms still wrapped around her waist.

"Goodman sent me home, said I had worked enough."

Booth chuckled, a bit sadly. Things hadn't been different tonight. She hadn't come home on her free will.

"Well I'm glad you're here. Have you eaten?"

"I ate three cookies that Goodman's kids brought just before I left."

Booth shook his head, releasing her from his grasp.

"Tell you what. You go change and I'll make us some dinner."

Temperance looked at him, surprised.

"You didn't eat?" she asked, shocked.

"I was waiting for you." Booth replied, shrugging. "Now. Go change."

Temperance rolled her eyes before turning around and heading in the kitchen then down the corridor to her boyfriend's bedroom. Booth watched her until she disappeared into his room before walking off towards the kitchen himself.

He rummaged through the fridge to find something to eat and soon realized that maybe he should have gone to do the groceries before coming home that night. But he had been so caught in his whole proposal idea that he had forgotten all about it. He sighed in frustration before moving to the cupboards. The only thing he could find to eat, on this hot August night, was chicken noodle soup. He grabbed the box. It would have to do.

The water had just started boiling when Temperance walked back in the kitchen. Booth listened as his girlfriend walked back behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"What are you making?" she asked.

"Soup. Sorry." He said, turning around in her embrace.

He looked sheepishely at her.

"That's all we have to eat."

Eyebrows shot upwards.

"Really? That's it? When's the last time we did groceries?" she asked, surprised.

"Last week but we already ate it all. I was going to stop by the store tonight but I got distracted."

"Distracted?"

She did the eyebrow thing again.

"Yeah. Tough case. Don't really want to go into it."

Temperance nodded.

"Is that why you wanted Angela today?"

"Yeah. Our sketch artist..."

"... wasn't there. You needed a replacement. I know. Angela told me."

Booth smiled at her, sadly. Temperance pulled her arms away.

"I'll set up the table."

Booth nodded before turning back to the soup on the stove.

As he waited for the soup to be ready, Booth lost himself once again in his thoughts. He needed to talk to Temperance tonight about marriage but he wasn't sure how to start. He couldn't just ask her out of the blue what she thought about marriage since he knew his question would immediately be followed by an investigation as to why he wanted to know.

His eyes fell on the white invitation on the counter. He had almost forgotten about it. His cousin Mark was getting married and he and Temperance were invited. He suddenly got an idea.

"My cousin Mark is getting married." He said as he turned off the stove.

"Yeah?"

Her tone told Booth she couldn't care less. Booth smiled. He wasn't fond of his cousin either. He hadn't seen the man in years.

"Yeah." Booth replied, taking a bowl and putting soup in it. "And we're invited."

"Are we?"

Same tone. Temperance sat down at the table and Booth placed the bowl in front of her. She thanked him before grabbing her spoon. Booth went back to the stove with his own bowl.

"Yep. It's in a month. Wanna go?"

"Not really."

Her honesty took him by surprise.

"Okay then. We won't go."

He heard her sigh.

"I'm sorry, Booth." She said as he sat down in front of her. "I just don't understand why people get married. I mean, half marriages end in divorce these days. I don't even know why people bother getting married."

Booth choked on his soup. He coughed a few times before finally recovering, tears in his eyes.

"You're serious? I mean, you really mean you're saying?" he asked her, surprised.

They had talked about marriage before but she had never told him _that_. His heart raced in his chest as he thought of the ring still in his front pocket and he hoped that Temperance hadn't noticed the bump in his shirt. When she looked down at her bowl to take a spoonful of soup, he looked down at his shirt. The pocket looked surprisingly flat.

"Of course I mean it, Booth. I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't." She replied, after swallowing.

She wiped her mouth with a napkin before continuing.

"People used to get married because that was what the Bible wanted. Marriage was seen as a way to procreate and you couldn't do that until you were married. I don't know, Booth. It seems that today, marriage has lost all meaning. Just look at celebrities. They get married left and right and their marriages barely even last three or four years. I can count on the fingers of one hand the celebrity couples that have surpassed that three-year limit."

"Tempe..."

"I know you believe in marriage, Booth, but I don't and I never will. You knew that before we started dating so there's no reason for you to give me that frustrated look."

Booth loosened the jaw he didn't know he had been clenching. He sighed softly.

"I know, Bones. I know. I know you don't believe in marriage. I still think you could change your mind eventually. I mean, the examples that you gave me, they are exception to the rule. There are still a lot of people out there who get married because they love each other and want to acknowledge it. That's the true meaning of marriage, Bones. That's it."

Temperance remained silent. He dropped his gaze to his bowl.

"Maybe one day, when you find someone you really really love, you'll change your mind."

He felt a hand touch his and he looked up. Temperance was looking at him, a seriousness on her face that he had never seen before.

"I _have_ found someone that I really really love."

She squeezed his hand.

"But that doesn't mean that I will change my views on marriage."

Booth nodded before swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. Suddenly, the ring in his pocket felt heavier than it had before.

Temperance pulled her hand away and resumed her dinner. Booth watched her, his hunger completely gone.

* * *

**Poor Booth...**


	4. Doubts

**A/N: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all your reviews. They made me really happy! Hope you like this chapter as well. Don't worry, the proposal is coming. I just need to set the mood a little.**

* * *

Booth sighed as he pushed the door of the Jeffersonian and stepped into the warmness of the August air. He had tried his best, after his conversation with his girlfriend, the previous night, to sound casual and normal around her but he found it harder than he had expected it to be. He already felt rejected even though he hadn't even proposed yet. Maybe Angela was right after all. Maybe he shouldn't propose. He thought of the ring in his drawer at home and sighed once again.

"Booth!"

The sound of his name stopped him just as he was getting into his car. He looked up to see Angela jogging towards him, her bag flung over her shoulder. She walked quickly and Booth glanced at his watch. She was on time. Why was she in a hurry?

" 'Morning Angela." He replied, casually.

As if on cue, butterflies suddenly began dancing around in the pit of his stomach. He knew what was coming. He knew what Angela was going to talk to him about. He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.

He didn't feel like talking about it. He had spent the night tossing and turning, unable to stop thinking about his conversation with Temperance. She was almost _against_ marriage. She had compared real marriages to the Hollywood fake ones. He still couldn't believe everything he had heard and he definetely didn't want to relive this conversation by talking about it to Angela.

He forced a smile as the artist stopped in front of him.

"You're here early." She told him.

"I came to drop of Temperance. Her car wouldn't start this morning for some reason. But I could have been earlier than that. She wanted to leave the house at six-thirty."

Angela giggled.

"You got her to stay home an extra forty-five minutes?"

Booth nodded, proudly.

Angela replied with a smile of her own before turning serious once again.

"Did you talk to her?"

The smile on Booth's face faded also.

"Yeah."

Barely audible response but Angela caught it.

"Ahd? What did she say?"

Stupid question. She already knew the answer.

Booth looked away, uncomfortable.

"Look, Angela. It's not even eight in the morning. I didn't sleep well last night and I have a lot of work waiting for me at the Bureau. Could we talk about this some other time? I'm not really up to it right now."

Angela ignored him.

"She hasn't changed her mind, has she?"

Booth sighed.

"Nope."

Booth could tell by her expression that Angela felt sorry for him. He felt a bit of anger rise inside of him. He didn't need anybody's pity.

"So? What are you going to do?"

The same tone that told him _poor you, are you okay?_. He suddenly felt rebellious. His answer took the artist aback.

"You'll do it anyway? Are you crazy?"

Her eyes were round in astonishment. Booth suppressed a chuckle.

"Crazy about her, yeah."

Angela rolled her eyes.

"That is not what I meant. Booth, if you propose, you're going to get shot down."

"Not necessarily."

She rolled her eyes once again. Booth wondered how many times it would take for her eyes to get stuck upwards. Maybe if he got her to roll her eyes just once more... He smiled.

"What's so funny?"

Booth shook his head, trying to get the mental picture out of his mind.

"Nothing. Listen, Ange. I have to go. We'll talk later, okay?"

"You sure bet we'll talk later. I'm not letting you do this."

Booth shrugged before getting into the SUV. Angela stepped back and watched as he turned the ignition and drove out of the parking lot.

* * *

" 'Morning, Sweetie." Angela said as she passed her best friend's office on her way to her own.

"Oh hey Angela." Temperance replied, her eyes and concentration not leaving the file she was holding in her hands.

Temperance heard mouvement in her office and she knew that it was Angela walking in and settling herself on her couch. She still didn't look up. She didn't need to.

Several minutes of silence passed during which Temperance reread the file to make sure she had gotten everything right before finally applying the red _Case Closed_ stamp. She sighed in relief as she closed the folder. Yet another family had gotten the closure they had desperately needed for years.

Temperance sat down on her chair and stared at her best friend.

"Are you going to talk or are you going to sit in my office all day?" she asked as she grabbed another file and opened it.

Angela opened her mouth to reply before changing her mind. She waited a few seconds, debating how to present this without sounding too obvious or revealing Booth's secret intentions.

"I ran into Booth in the parking lot this morning."

Yes, this was the right way to start.

"He sounded and acted a bit off. Did you two have a fight or something?"

Temperance looked up.

"No. Why?"

"Well I'm just saying. He was acting a bit weird, I thought maybe things were just awkward after fight that you guys have had. Did anything else happen last night?"

_I don't believe in marriage._ Her words echoed in her mind. But no, it couldn't be that. They had talked about it before and Booth had already known her views on marriage. She told Angela.

"We did talk about marriage last night after Booth told me about his cousin Mark's wedding. But he couldn't have been acted weird about that since he already knew how I felt towards marriage."

Angela shook her head, as if surprised by what she was hearing.

"Sweetie, Booth is all for marriage. He wants to get married and have kids. That's what he's looking for in a relationship. I think he's just starting to doubt your own."

"You mean doubting _our_ relationship?"

Angela nodded.

"But why would he do that?"

"I don't know, Bren. Maybe because he feels like your relationship is going nowhere. Maybe there's another reason. Booth is not getting any younger. You know as much as I do that Booth wants a big family, that Parker, as much as he loves him, isn't enough. You two want so many different things. Opposite things. Maybe he feels that your relationship together isn't worth it."

She knew she was being harsh by lying. Harsh for him and harsh for her best friend but she felt like this was the only way that Temperance would react. She didn't want neither of them to get hurt by all of this but she knew what was coming. She could almost portray Booth on one knee, holding out the ring and Temperance saying she was sorry before getting up and walking out of the room.

Tears shot up her eyes at the image. She turned to find Temperance staring weirdly at her.

"Sorry." She replied, sniffling. "Allergies."

"To what?" Temperance asked, her curious scientific mind wanting to know.

Angela replied the first thing that popped in her mind.

"Dust."

Temperance was about to reply that there weren't any dust in her office when a knock interrupted them. They turned to see Hodgins standing outside the office.

"The local PD just dropped by a body. They need you to identify it." He told the doctor.

Temperance nodded sharply before getting up and walking out of her office.

* * *

It had taken thirty minutes before she had finished the examination and filled out the file. The body had belong to a caucasian female, aged between the ages of 20 and 25 though Temperance believed it was more 25 than 20, and had died from strangulation. A weird cut on one of the rib had also indicated that the victim had been stabbed, probably before she had gotten strangled. Temperance had written that all down in her file before handing it to the police officer standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for the quick ID to be over. Temperance had then walked back to her office.

Her conversation with Angela echoed in her mind. Booth was doubting their relationship? She couldn't understand why. He had been so happy to see her after coming back from Seattle and he had still been happy the previous morning. She frowned. It had been after he had gone to the Bureau with Angela that things had changed, if in fact things _had _changed and before Booth's new weird attitude hadn't been a figment over Angela's imagination. What could have gone down over there that had gotten Booth all worked up? She needed to talk to Angela.

She found the artist working on the victim's face on the Angelator. She knocked softly before walking in. She didn't beat around the bush. She went straight to her question.

"Booth started acting weird after you two went down to the Bureau yesterday. Why is that?"

Angela dropped her pencil.

_Busted._ A voice told her in her mind that sounded awfully like Hodgins.

She told it to pipe down.

"I don't know what you mean, Sweetie."

"You said that Booth was acting weird this morning when he acted perfectly normal yesterday morning. Something happened between the time he left my office with you and this morning when you spoke to him. It can't be the conversation we had last night because he already knew that I didn't believe in marriage. So it had to be something that happened while you two were down at the Bureau."

_Actually it's a little bit of both._ Angela thought. She kept quiet.

"Nothing happened at the Bureau yesterday, Bren. I think you should talk to Booth about all of this and see what he has to say. I'm sorry I can't be of more help."

Temperance looked away and set her gaze on the woman spinning around in the Angelator.

"That the new victim?"

Angela nodded.

* * *

"Don't forget, Booth." Cullen said, popping his head in the Agent's office. "We have a meeting in ten minutes."

"Yes, Sir." Booth replied before applying his signature to the form he had been reading.

He looked up to see his boss nod sharply at him and walking away. Booth sighed and leaned back against his chair, his fingers crossed behind his head. Not any amount of paperwork could keep his mind off the woman working ten blocks away from here. His heart ached every time he thought about her. How could she be against marriage? What example of failed marriages had occured in her life to make her believe such ideas? He suddenly realized that even though he had dating her for a year, he didn't know much about her.

He sighed. No, he couldn't be thinking about that right now. He had some work to do. There was a pile of files on his desk that demanded his attention. He picked up another one and opened it in front of him.

Martine Dussault, 23. French-canadian. Disappeared last January during a trip to Vermont. Was last seen in a sky resort January 27th. Long brown hair, hazel eyes, 5'5", 130 lbs. Booth sighed. Another body they would never recover.

His phone rang. He picked it up.

"Agent Booth."

"Yes. This is Ian Storm, from the Washington PD. We have just recovered a body outside of the city and have brought it to the Jeffersonian. The forensic anthropologist IDed the victim as female, aged 20 to 25 years old. The artist had drawn the victim's face."

Booth knew what the officer wanted to ask him. He replied before the man at the other end of the line asked his question.

"Fax me the drawing." Booth replied.

He could tell by the silence that the man was surprised. Neverthless, five minutes later, Booth was pulling out an amazingly well drawn picture Angela had made of the victim. But Booth wouldn't even have to run it in his computer. Sitting back down, he grabbed the phone.

"Martine Dussault." He said.

Minutes later, after filling in the officer, Booth hung up. He looked at his clock. The meeting was to start in two minutes and he still had to go to the bathroom. He got up and was about to walk out of his office when he felt his cellphone vibrate. He snatched it from his pocket and opened it.

"Booth." He stated.

"You're doubting our relationship?"

* * *

**What is Booth going to say about this? Is Angela in trouble for lying? Are Booth's secret intentions going to be revealed? Tune in in the next chapter to find out! Coming soon to a computer screen near you. **

**Okay yeah, I admit. This was cheesy as hell! lol**


	5. The Birthday Party

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I wasn't planning on posting so soon but I was just so excited that I did. Hope you like it.**

* * *

"Temperance? What on Earth are you talking about?"

"_I'm talking about you. About us. Are you doubting us?"_

Booth shook his head as he stood in front of the mirror, tucking his shirt in his pants. He still couldn't believe he had had that conversation with her.

The question had taken him by surprise. He had quickly glanced at the clock and seen that he had less than fifty seconds before the meeting started. He knew that his girlfriend would be mad if he told her he couldn't talk at the moment but he also knew that his boss would be mad for showing up late at a meeting. At that particular second, Booth hadn't been quite sure which person he preferred to be mad at him.

"_Listen, Tempe. I have no clue what you're talking about but right now, I really need to go. I have a meeting that starts in like thirty seconds and I still have to go to the bathroom. We'll talk tonight, okay?"_

_He had heard her sigh._

"_So you are doubting us then. Because if you weren't, you wouldn't be telling me you had to go."_

"_What? No! I just really need to go. We'll talk tonight, I promise."_

But they hadn't talked that night. Nor had they spoken the following day. Booth had accidentally hung up just as she was going to say something. He had regretted it the moment it had happened but there had been nothing he could have done about it. And, of course, he had been late for the meeting but Cullen had been so concentrated on giving his lecture, he hadn't even seen him walking in. At least one good thing had happened that day.

The silence treatment had lasted two days. She had finally decided that she had had enough. He had been standing at the kitchen counter, fixing his son some lunch when he had felt a pair of arms wrapping themselves around his waist.

"_Why did Angela tell me that you were doubting our relationship if you weren't?"_

Booth had turned around at the sound of the voice. Temperance had unwrapped her arms from around his waist and had stepped back a little.

"_Oh so Angela told you."_

_She had nodded._

"_She said that you were acting really weird the morning she saw you and she asked me if we had had a fight. I said no and then she said that maybe you were doubting our relationship because you wanted to get married eventually and have more children and I didn't. Why would she say that if it wasn't true?"_

Suddenly, everything had gotten clearer for him. He had forced himself not to show it.

"_She was probably just speculating, trying to figure out why I was acting so weird. That's probably all it was."_

He had seen the realization hit her hard. She had looked down immediately.

"_So I guess I overreacted, huh?"_

He had been surprised by her answer. Had she really been admitting that she had been wrong?

"_Yeah. A bit."_

"_I'm sorry."_

_Her blue eyes still wouldn't look at him. Reaching out towards her, he lifted her chin with his finger._

"_Never doubt my feelings for you, Bones. Never."_ He replied, softly_. "Come here." He had then added, gathering her in his arms._

Booth had been surprised when she had stepped willingly into his embrace, her arms snaking their way to his neck and had accepted his reassurance. He had kissed the side of her head and had heard her sigh.

"_What's the matter?"_ he had asked, suddenly concerned.

She had looked up at him, an expression on her face that he had never really seen before.

"_Oh nothing."_ She had replied. _"I was just thinking about how nice it feels to be loved."_

Booth shivered for the hundredth time as he thought about that particular statement. The words had followed him for the five days following the conversation and her statement had only reinforced his desire to marry her and make her feel loved for the rest of his life.

"_I'll show you just how nice it feels to be loved._" He had then added. "_But not right now. Let's wait for Parker's nap."_ He had added with a wink.

That night, there had been more talking. They had talked, Booth had reassured her again, they had loved each other once more before finally falling asleep.

Five days had gone by since then. Things had gone wonderfully well and now here they were. Booth could hear Temperance's friends in the other room talking all together. Of course the Squints were here, but Russ had also made the trip to Washington, accompanied by his girlfriend and her two daughters. Booth had convinced his girlfriend to invite his parents, which she had done and he could also hear them in Tempe's living room. A few more friends had dropped by, friends that Booth had never met but that Temperance and Angela seemed to know very well.

He felt the nervousness come back every time he thought about later tonight. He had first planned on proposing in front of her friends and his family but after his conversation with Angela, he had had second thoughts about it. Besides, if she were to reject him, he wasn't sure he would be able to live with it if it had happened in front of a whole crowd. So he had changed his mind. He would propose after everybody was gone.

He checked his drawer to make sure the ring was still there. When his hand hit the velvet box, he knew that Temperance hadn't found it or moved it. He sighed in relief. At least his surprise wouldn't be totally ruined by Angela's lie.

He took out a pair of socks and went to sit on the bed. On _her _bed. More butterflies invited themselves in the pit of his stomach. They weren't even living together yet and tonight he would be proposing. This was one more thing he had forgotten to consider.

A knock at the door startled him and he jumped off the bed, like he had been caught doing something illegal. His heart still hammered in his chest as Temperance opened the door and stepped in the room.

"What's taking you so long? Everybody's here and they're all waiting for you."

The sight of him caught her breathless. They had been dating for a year, have known each other for three, she had seen him in formal clothes more times than she could remember but she was still surprised by his hotness when he was all dressed up. And today, he was all dressed up for her. She couldn't help but smile.

"Hey... you look good." She said, the smile spreading on her face.

"You don't have to sound so surprised about it." He replied, sarcastically, as he walked slowly towards her.

She met him halfway. Their arms pulled them closer together. Booth's heart, though recovered from the sudden knock, still raced inside his chest. Her eyes always had a way of doing that to him.

"You don't look so bad yourself." He replied as he brought one hand into her hair.

She had tied her hair in a poneytail but even the simplest poneytail made her look glamorous. He knew that, at their wedding, he just wanted her to wear her hair in a poneytail.

"Come on." She said. "Let's go."

She tried to pull away but Booth's arms prevented her from leaving. She turned back around. A pair of lips found their way to hers. She kissed them back, loving the feeling of them against her. Her arms pulled him even closer to her.

They pulled away at the same time, feeling the need to breathe, and Booth rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you." He whispered, his grasp on her tightening as he said it.

"I know." She whispered in reply.

Her fingers played with the hair at the back of his neck.

"I know."

They kissed one more time before leaving the room, Temperance taking him by the hand and leading him to the living room.

His eyes spotted Angela on the couch, talking to Hodgins. Their eyes met and Booth immediately felt even more nervous. Their gaze spoke loads of silent words. He knew by her look that, as happy as she was for them, she still wasn't too sure about the proposal. And Booth knew that, by his look, Angela could read that he was still going to do it anyway. And after the kiss they had just shared in the bedroom, Booth was more than ever willing to take a chance.

* * *

**This is it, folks! The moment of truth is coming really soon! Who can't wait until Booth gets down on one knee? I know I sure can't wait. I've been waiting for that moment since I started writing this story. Tune in soon:-)**


	6. Booth's Present

**A/N: Sorry I made you guys wait a while but I didn't know how to start this chapter. I've actually rewritten the beginning three times and even now I'm not even satisfied with it. Oh well. As long as you guys like it, then I'll be fine.**

* * *

From the kitchen, Temperance could hear the chatter going on in her living room. As she rested against the counter, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by everything that was happening. She couldn't quite remember her last birthday party. It was probably when her parents had still been around. She tried to remember that wonderful day but found that she couldn't. Maybe she hadn't had one that year. It was possible. 

Nevertheless, this was all a bit too much for her. She hadn't had so many people gathered around for her in seventeen years and everything felt a bit overwhelming. She had been sitting on the couch, chatting with Angela and Hodgins when she had felt the need to walk out of the room. Nobody had followed her and she was thankful for it. She didn't want to answer questions.

She opened the cupboard behind her and took out a glass. Her throat felt dry. She poured herself some water and drank it quickly. She filled the glass once again and was about to bring it to her lips when the sound of her name reached her ears. Frowning, he set the glass back on the counter and walked towards the voices.

* * *

Booth and Angela stood in the hallway seperating the kitchen and the living room from the bedrooms and bathroom. They stood close and their voices were so low that Temperance had to take a few more steps in order to hear what they were saying. 

"So you're still going to do it?" She heard Angela ask.

"Yes." Booth replied, casting a quick glance behind him to make sure they were alone.

"Do you have it with you?"

"Yeah. There's no way I'm leaving that thing unattended."

"You really think it's a good idea?"

Booth sighed.

"Yes and, if I recall, you used to be all for it. I can still hear you squealing in joy."

"I've calmed down since then and had a lot of time to think. You know my opinion on the matter but if you still to go ahead and do it, then fine. Do it. But I'm not gonna watch. I would advise you to do it when no one is around. It'd be better."

Temperance stepped away from the wall and walked back into the living room, confused. What had her friends been talking about? What had Booth planned that he hadn't told her about? How come Angela knew about it? She sat down beside her brother and he smiled at her. She smiled back.

He was about to ask her a question when a voice got their attention.

"Okay. Present time!" Angela announced, loudly, as she walked towards the table, where all the presents laid.

With Booth's help, they brought all the presents to the living room and the guests grabbed their respective ones. Temperance fell to the ground while Booth sat behind her on the couch.

"Okay. Open mine first!" Angela said as she shoved a neatly-wrapped box in her best friend's hands.

Temperance looked up at her boyfriend. He smiled at her brightly before motionning the present with his chin. She rolled her eyes, her mind diverted from the weird conversation in the hallway by the thought that Booth reminded her of a kid when it came to presents. She turned her attention back to the box. It felt light and Temperance wondered if Angela had put something in there.

"What is it?" she asked, curiously.

"Telling you would suck out all the fun of opening the present. Now come on! Open it!"

Temperance chuckled as she carefully began to unwrap the small box. Memories of old birthday parties and Christmases flashed before her eyes. She could even hear her mother saying to be careful with the wrapping paper while opening her presents so they could reuse it the following year. Even though Temperance never did recycle wrapping paper since college, she had never lost the habit of being careful.

She could feel Booth's hands resting on her shoulders and she couldn't help but wonder what he had gotten her. She had told him she didn't want anything but, knowing him, he probably hadn't listened.

After a few seconds of struggle with the wrapping paper, Temperance finally freed the box from its shell. The box was brownish and the doctor wondered what awaited her inside of it. She felt a long-lost but still familiar feeling surging through her. She hadn't felt this excited about a present since her 10th Christmas where she had asked her parents for a telescope. She still remembered the huge box under the Christmas tree. It had taken all her might not to sneak down before dawn to open the present.

She lifted the cover of the box and her eyes grew wide in surprise. Inside the box laid a nicely folded, navy blue shirt. The exact same one she had seen at the store a few weeks earlier and had refused to buy because of its ridiculour prize. She looked up at her best friend and found her beaming.

"Angela, you shouldn't have." She said, unable to say anything else.

She unfolded the shirt and examined it at arm's length. She could feel Booth's eyes doing the same thing,

"I had to, Sweetie. That shirt looked marvelous on you."

Then, turning her attention to the crowd, she added:

"But Miss Temperance here didn't want to buy it because it was too expensive."

People smiled and Temperance found herself being defensive.

"Angela, that shirt costed more money than one of Booth's suits."

"Hey! What do you have against my suits?" Booth replied, from behind her.

She looked up to find him smiling at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Just accept the present, Bren. That's what birthdays are supposed to be for."

Temperance casted one more glance at the shirt before folding it back into the box.

"Okay, who's next?" Angela then asked, cheerfully.

"How about Booth?" Jack asked.

All eyes turned expectantly to him and Booth felt himself reddened under their stares. His face grew even hotter when he looked down and saw Temperance staring intently at him. He fought to find something to say.

"Actually, I'll be giving her her present later tonight. After all of you have left."

Hodgins and Jared, Booth's brother, oohed which earned them a punch on the arm from their neighbor. Angela and Jared's girlfriend glared at them before turning their attention back to the couple across the living room. Angela smiled at Booth but the agent looked away. Thanks to her, he was now having doubts once again.

Temperance squeezed his knee before turning back around.

"I'm next." Zack said from beside Angela as he pushed his present towards his boss.

Temperance pulled the box towards her and unwrapped it.

* * *

"Thank you for coming." Temperance said before closing the door behind the last guest. 

She turned around and leaned back against the door, letting out a long sigh of relief. Booth, who was already picking up the forgotten wrapping paper from the floor, chuckled.

"Are you glad it's over?" he asked her, a smile tugging at his lips.

"You have no idea." Temperance replied, pushing herself away from the wall. "I mean, I know it was my birthday and all but I'm glad it only comes once a year. I don't think I'd be able to do that often."

Booth set the paper on the coffee table before walking up towards his girlfriend. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he then pulled her to him and kissed her on the forehead. Her arms wrapped themselves around his waist.

"Well you did great. And my parents absolutely loved you."

"Did they?"

She sounded surprised.

"Of course they did. My father even told me you looked really pretty and he never said that about any of my other girlfriends."

"What about Tessa?" she asked, knowing that Booth didn't like to talk about it.

"I thought you were over your obsession with her?" He replied. "But if you must know, my parents never met her. We didn't date long enough for them to meet her."

Temperance nodded.

"You still owe me my present." She said, a playful smile spreading on her face. "I wonder what you got me."

Booth let go of her, suddenly uncomfortable. His heart raced a thousand miles an hour in his chest and he was pretty sure if he didn't calm down, he would have a heart attack. He felt himself start to shake and he was pretty sure he was sweating. He just hoped Temperance didn't notice any of it.

"Why don't you clean up and I'll be back with your present in a couple of minutes."

Temperance nodded and watched as Boot disappeared in the hallway. She immediately began to pick up the wrappers.

* * *

Darkness engulfed him as he stepped in the room. He reached for the switch beside the door and turned on the lights. He headed straight for the bed and let himself fall onto it. He closed his eyes and tried to calm the pounding headache taking his place in his head. The ring suddenly felt heavy in his pocket. He reached inside and took out the small box. 

He looked at the dark purple velvet box and sighed. Was he doing the right thing? Was he heading towards the hugest mistake of his life? Angela seemed so dead set on the scenario where Temperance would reject him. Was it possible that she could be right about it? After all, she had been friends with Tempe longer than he had.

But then again, he and Temperance were closer than the two women had ever been and knew stuff about her that most people didn't. They had a connection, they shared a very deep friendship and profound love and respect for one another even though they had only been together for a year. As he opened the little box and stared at the ring, he realized that it was worth the shot.

He closed the box before sitting up.

_This is it._ He thought.

Taking a deep breath, he got up and walked out of the room, tucking the ring back in his pocket.

* * *

She had long ago finished cleaning up the living room when she heard the footsteps coming her way. She couldn't help but the huge smile that spread over her face and lit up her features at the thought of finally getting this 'mysterious' present from her boyfriend. 

She turned to see him standing in front of her, empty-handed. She fought the disappointment that threatened to appear on her face. He motionned to her to sit down and she did. He followed her seconds later.

As they sat facing each other, Temperance wondered what was going on. It wasn't like him to be acting like this. She was about to ask him what was wrong when he finally spoke.

"Temperance, I... I love you, with all my heart. I'm sure you know that by now."

She nodded, unsure of what else to say. What was going on?

"We've known each other for three years and over the years, you truly became not only my partner but my best friend."

She felt pressure on her hands. She looked down to see that Booth had envelopped her hands in his. She looked back up at him and saw something in his eyes that made her feel worried. The previous conversation between Angela and him sprang in her mind and she immediately knew that there was a connection between the conversation and his current weird behavior. She found herself wondering if Booth was dying. She pushed that thought aside. It was illogical.

"When we first started dating, I considered myself to be the luckiest man on Earth. I was proud to be your boyfriend, to be the oneyou had let in your life after years of shutting people out."

"I hope you're going somewhere with this." Temperance said, frowned.

Booth chuckled.

"But I didn't know how much I cared about you until that madman kidnapped you."

"Booth," she immediately warned, "let's not go there."

"We have to, Temperance. This thing is a part of our history together. We will never be able to forget about it. We can try, but it will never disappear completely."

He paused and cleared his throat.

"What I mean to say is that it took _that_ to make me realize how much I loved you and how I wanted to be with you. Then I went to Seattle a few months after and I was really scared to leave because I was sure that something bad was going to happen to you. I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if something happened to you and it almost made me not want to go. During the whole week, I could only think of you and nothing else. I had trouble concentrating on my job and the only thing I wanted was to go to my hotel room and call you. Just to hear your voice."

Temperance felt her heart beat faster and the familiar urge to run away crept back up. She blinked a few times, unable to say anything else and barely aware of Booth letting go of her hand to rummage through his pocket. She didn't notice when he took out the box.

"You complete me in every way, Temperance, and I just love every little thing about you. You're the perfect woman for me and I don't want anybody else."

His hands trembled as he slowly opened the velvet box.

"_This_ is your birthday present."

Temperance slowly looked down from his eyes to his hands. She gasped softly as her eyes fell on the ring and her heart skipped a beat. She didn't know how long she had been staring at the ring, silently, but she soon felt a finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"Temperance, will you marry me?"

* * *

The soft music didn't drown out the three loud knocks at the front door. Angela dropped the paintbrush she had been holding and, wiping her hands on a towel laying beside her easel, she walked towards her door. 

The knocks were heard again, irritating the artist.

"Relax, I'm coming." She said to whoever stood on the other side.

She unlocked her door and her heart nearly stopped when she opened the door. She was about to speak when her visitor cut her off.

"I really thought she'd say yes." He said, his voice cracking.

Nodding sympathetically, Angela gathered her friend in a giant hug.

* * *

**_Gulps and runs away..._**


	7. The Morning After

**A/N: '_Peaks nervously above the bushes. Feeling safe, stands up. Dusts off her pants'_ Wow! I'm alive! Thanks you guys! I was very happy with the response I got from my last chapter so I decided to post this one really quickly. Hope you like it!**

* * *

The picture above her television spoke volumes about how they truly felt about each other. She still remembered when that picture had been taken. Booth had dragged her to a semi-formal FBI party a few months earlier. That picture had been taken by Angela, who had gotten herself invited by one of Booth's colleagues. The two of them stood pressed against one another, like they were dancing, and Booth was sweetly kissing her cheek. The two of them were grinning and the happiness they felt being each other was obvious even to the most oblivious person.

She sighed as she remembered that night. They had had a lot of fun and she couldn't even remember the last time she had laughed that much. But now everything was ruined and it was because of her.

She was used to being let down by the people she cared the most about and she had felt her load of pain. But she never thought she would live this with Booth. This pain she knew too well, she never thought her relationship with Booth could cause it. What hurt her more was that she knew she had caused the end of their relationship.

Getting up, she decided that she had done enough sulking for the night. She switched all the lights off in her apartment before heading towards her bedroom.

* * *

"Booth, man, you look like crap." Agent Stevenson told him as he came to stand beside him at the coffee machine. 

"Yeah." Booth replied. "Didn't sleep well."

"Girl trouble?"

"Sort of."

Stevenson was about to ask another question when the two men were cut off by a voice behind them. They turned around to see Cullen standing not far.

"Yes, Sir?" Stevenson asked, straightening up.

Booth chuckled.

_You're not in the army._ He mentally told his colleague.

"You can relax, Stevenson. I'm here to talk to Booth."

"Oh." The agent replied before grabbing his coffee mug and walking out of the room.

Cullen motionned to Booth to follow him. The tired and slightly depressed agent followed his boss to his office.

Booth was surprised when Cullen closed the door behind them and pointing to the chair. Booth took it as an invitation to sit down and did so. He watched as Cullen circled his desk before seating himself at his desk. He ruffled a few papers, quick-scanned some of them before pulling one out from under the pile and handing it to Booth.

"The FBI headquarters in Philadelphia need your help. A body has been found in a dumpster just outside a small restaurant and the body was identified as Paul Rawdon. Rawdon is from DC and as an informer for the local PD. The agent working the case in Philadelphia thinks his man could be linked to the latest victim identified by your _partner_."

The emphasis on the word partner irritated Booth. He kept his mouth shut.

"Martine Dussault, the young woman who disappeared in Vermont and somehow ended up here."

"Exactly."

"But I'm not working this case, Sir. The local PD is."

"It was proven that, even though Dussault was kidnapped in Vermont, her killing most likely occured in the Washington area. The local handed the file over to us. I'm handing it over to you and your lady scientist."

"But I don't see how Dussault and Rawdon could be related."

"That's for you and your squint to find out."

Booth had been able to retort but Cullen cut him off.

"You will be working with Agent Cassandra Burns, the agent who has been handed the Rawdon case. You leave in five hours."

Booth thanked his boss before getting up and walking towards the door. As he stepped into the hallway, Booth silentely thanked his luck. Some time away was exactly what he needed.

* * *

"Brenn?" Angela asked tentatively as she poked her head inside her best friend's office. 

She heard a big intake of air that told Angela her best friend was forcing herself not to snap at her after being disturbed.

"What?"

Cold voice. Uh oh. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Can I come in?" Angela replied, softly.

She saw her best friend shrug and took that as a yes. She carefully stepped in the office, closing the door behind her. She sat down on the couch and turned to her best friend.

"Booth told me what happened." She started.

Temperance didn't reply, nor did she move. Angela forced herself not to sigh.

"I'm really sorry, Sweetie. I didn't want things to end this way between the two of you."

"Neither had I."

Her cold voice had turned softer and sadder. Angela immediately started to feel bad.

"Do you want to talk about it? Tell me what happened?"

Temperance shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it with anybody. All she wanted was to be left alone to work. She didn't need company, sympathy or anything. She just wanted solitude. She told her best friend so.

"Did you talk to him at all today?" Angela replied, ignoring her friend's request.

"No."

The cold voice was back again. Angela sighed, this time.

"You _have_ to talk to him. It can't end this way between the two of you."

"Does he think it's over?"

Angela thought she could detect a hint of fear in her friend's question. She didn't know what to tell her. Booth hadn't been particularly talkative the previous night and he had been gone when Angela had woken up in the morning. She hadn't gotten much more out of him than what he had said at her door. She clearly remembered him saying that he was pretty sure it was over between them.

Angela looked down, unable to look at her best friend.

"He might have mentionned it."

Temperance nodded, her eyes suddenly tearing up. She looked away.

"But I don't think that's what he wants. He loves you with all of his heart and he just got his feelings hurt last night... badly. Just go talk to him. Tell him that it's not over between the two of you and that maybe, you just need a little break to get over this incident."

"I don't think I can do it, Ange. You should have seen the look on..."

But she was unable to finish her sentence. Her voice cracked and, in an instant, Angela was on her feet and at her side, pulling her friend into a hug.

"Ssshh, it's okay." She said, in a soothing tone. "Everything will be alright. You two are Brennan and Booth. You work things out. You got through so much, you'll get through that just as fine."

She felt her best friend nod and pulled away. Her eyes were already bloodshot and a few tears were trailing down her face. Angela wiped them, unable to see them. She could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times her best friend had cried in front of her. She had just used up her fourth one. She soothingly ran her hand through her friend's soft hair.

"Come on. Pull yourself together. Go wash up and drive to the Bureau. You guys can't leave this just hanging like that."

"I don't think I can face him."

"Just try, Brenn. Just try for your relationship's sake. The longer you wait, the harder it will be for you two to come out of this unaffected."

Temperance nodded before violently wiping the tears from her face. She stood up, smoothed her clothes and made her way to the door.

"Tell Goodman I'm taking my lunch break earlier today." She told her best friend before walking out of the office.

She was heading towards the restrooms when a voice stopped her.

"Dr. Brennan?"

Temperance immediately froze, recognizing instantly the voice that had spoken her name. She turned around slowly to face a slightly surprised Cullen. He frowned at her bizarre appearance and Temperance could only imagine what she looked like.

"What are you still doing here? I thought you were gone to Philadelphia."

Temperance tilted her head, confused. Angela chose that moment to step out of the office. She frowned at the sight of the duo in the hallway.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Cullen turned around at the sound of the voice.

"I was just asking Dr. Brennan what she was still doing here."

"She works... here." Angela replied, unsure of what else to say.

"I know _that._" Cullen replied and Angela could definetely hear that the man still wasn't too fond of her despite everything she had done for his daughter. "It's just that I handed a case file to Booth this morning, telling him that him and his partner were being sent to Philadelphia to investigate a recent murder."

"What?" Temperance replied, the second every word of Cullen's reply had been assimilated in her brain.

Cullen turned back to the doctor.

"You can understand why I'm surprised to see you here, Dr. Brennan, when I thought you had left for Philadelphia an hour ago."

Cullen paused for a brief second.

"You didn't know he had left?"

But Temperance didn't reply. She brushed quickly past Cullen and Angela and walked in her office. Without thinking, she made her way directly to the phone and dialed Booth's number.

A few seconds later, she was being told that the customer she was trying to reach was unavailable. She hung up violently before letting herself fall into her chair.

_Shit.

* * *

_

**TBC of course. I'm going away for two days so don't expect an update tomorrow but if you're nice enough to leave me lots of reviews, I might just update Thursday. ;-)**


	8. A Week or Two

**A/N: I felt like being nice so I decided to update today (came earlier than I had expected to). Hopefully you will like this second-last chapter. Don't forget to review at the end:-) They make me update faster. ;-)**

**A/N2: Who can't wait for Season 2 to start! Only 28 days left (hopefully) and only 29 days left before my b-day:-)**

* * *

"The cause of death is obvious." Zack said as he twirled the skull of their latest Doe in his hands. 

Temperance shot him a reprimanded look.

"You have to work procedurally, Zack. You can't skip any steps. Come on, put that skull down."

Her tone had been a little harsher than she had wanted it to be but she couldn't care less.

"Sorry, Dr. Brennan." Zack then apologized.

But not even his apology could bring his boss to feel bad.

She felt numb, felt like all she could feel was pain and nothing else. So she worked. Booth had been gone for a week, maybe two, she couldn't remember. Her work engulfed her, time stood still. She hadn't heard of him and hadn't tried to contact him. She had simply just... worked. She was well aware of the worried glances her friends and colleagues threw her way but she ignored them. She didn't need anybody's pity. If Booth had wanted to leave without telling her, it had been his choice. There was nothing she could do about it now.

She finished arranging the remains.

"Working from the top down, what do you see?" she asked her assistant.

"The shape of the skull and facial features tell us the victim was possibly African-American."

Temperance nodded, jotting down Zack's analysis on her report sheet.

"What else?"

"Cause of death: skull smashed open by a blunt object."

Temperance glared at him. Zack looked back down at the skeleton.

"From the way the hips and pelvis are built, we have got ourself a John Doe."

Another nod from the doctor. Zack worked his way down to the feet. Nothing else of value.

"Height?" Temperance asked, not looking up from her clipboard.

"Most likely between 6' and 6'3"."

"Age?"

"Thirty to mid-thirties."

Looking up from her clipboard, Temperance examined the skeleton herself. Zack hadn't missed anything. The only fracture she could see was present on the skull, the rest of the skeleton seemed in pretty good shape.

"It's too early to determine time of death."

She spoke out loud, more to herself than to her assistant.

"Dirt was brought in with the skeleton and plenty of bugs. We'll get Hodgins to take a look to determine time of death. Wrap this up and bring it over to Hodgins."

"Sure thing, Dr. Brennan."

Going back to her report, Temperance started writing once again. She could feel the quick glances thrown by Zack to her and she forced herself not to get irritated. After all, he was probably only looking out for her and wanted to make sure she was okay. But she didn't need protection from anybody. All she wanted was to be left alone and forget about the whole proposal incident. She knew that with the friends she had, it was unlikely to happen, especially if Booth didn't come back soon.

But after a few minutes, she grew tired of Zack's glances. Not bothering to look up from her report, she asked:

"What is it, Zack?"

Embarrassed to have been caught, Zack immediately looked away.

"Nothing, Dr. Brennan. I was just... nothing. I'm done wrapping our John Doe. I'll go find Hodgins and give him the dirt and bugs."

"That's a good idea." Temperance replied, clipping her pencil on the clipboard before walking down from the examination platform.

She could feel pairs of eyes on her as she made her way to her office. She ignored them.

She couldn't help the feeling of relief she felt as she stepped into the privacy of her office and closed the door behind her. Finally, she was away from all the pity and the worried glances.

Sitting down at her desk, she turned on her computer. She had forgotten to do it when she had come in a few hours ealier. As she waited for her computer to boot up, her gaze was attracted by the phone on the corner of her desk. Maybe she could call him. She shook her head. No, she had called him enough times this week. Or had she? She remembered calling once when she had found out that he had left without telling her but had she called him after that? She couldn't remember.

Was Booth waiting for her to call? After all, it would make sense since she _was_ the person who had shot him down. On another hand, maybe he didn't want to have anything to do with her anymore and that was the reason why he hadn't called.

She picked up the receiver, heart racing inside her chest. She dialed the number she knew too well only to fall on an answering machine. She hung up, not bothering to leave a message, then dialed his cellphone number. Again, she fell on the pre-recorded voice that told her the customer she was trying to reach was unavailable. She frowned as she hung up for the second time. That was odd. Booth never turned off her cellphone.

As she typed in her password, she couldn't help feeling a little anxious. Had something bad happened to him in Philadelphia? She pushed the thought aside. What did it matter, anyway?

A soft knock on her door brought her back to reality. She told the person, a tad irritated, to come in. A second later, Angela was stepping in the office. Closing down the behind her, she looked down at her friend, sympathetically.

"I don't need any sympathy or pity, Ange." Temperance warned her best friend.

"That's not why I'm here." Angela told her. "Can I sit down?"

"Suit yourself."

"Okay... you're mad." Angela said as she sat down on the chair, across from the best friend.

Temperance rolled her eyes, in a manner that told Angela she had been stating the obvious.

"You _knew_ about all of this. Why didn't you try to stop him? Or why didn't you just give me a heads-up? All of this could have been avoided and Booth and I would still be living together."

She grabbed a pencil and nervously played with it. She was being ridiculous and totally irrational. She knew it but she didn't care. A relationship like she had with Booth didn't come by often. She didn't want it to end, especially not like that.

"I'm sorry, Brenn. In my defense, I did warn him... several times. He just didn't want to listen. He was positive that you would say yes. Obviously, he was wrong."

"I just froze." She started, throwing the pencil in frustration. "When he asked me, I didn't know what to answer. I looked into his eyes and saw that he was scared. I saw myself in him and something in me pushed me to say no. It was like payback. Payback for all the pain I had suffered because of men."

Angela frowned, confused.

"So it has nothing to do with Booth, then? You were just getting revenge on all of the other jerks you dated and hurt you?"

Temperance sighed, leaning against the back of her chair.

"No, it has nothing to do with Booth and it wasn't only revenge. I just don't want to get married. Marriage changes everything. It puts a tag on the relationship and suddenly, everything that was one way when you were just dating isn't okay when you're married. It causes stress more than anything else."

Angela shook her head.

"You keep changing your reasons every time we have this conversation. Are you sure you don't secretely want to get married?"

"I don't. What I had with Booth was just perfect. For the first time in my life, Ange, I felt loved and I found it pretty nice. A marriage would have just ruined everything. I didn't want it to get ruined."

"Sweetie, a marriage with Booth would never ruin everything. That man is hopelessly in love with you and wants to cry it out to the whole world. A marriage would have just celebrated the love you two felt for one another and strengthened your bond. Marriage with Booth wouldn't be like a marriage with any other man. Trust me."

Unable to look at her friend anymore, Temperance turned her attention back to her screen. Her inbox was empty. No new e-mail. Not even one from her brother. She sighed. She missed Russ already. She wished he could be here to comfort her. God knows she needed it.

"Did you only come to see me to talk about Booth?" Temperance asked, her voice filled with unspoken sadness.

"No. I came to get you. Hodgins wanted to talk to you about those bugs you sent his way."

Temperance nodded before closing her e-mail window. Putting her computer on stand-by, she then got up and walked to the door. Angela followed behind her, a smile tugging at her lips.

* * *

She swiped her card before stepping onto the platform. Hodgins was bent over his microscope, examining what seemed like small worms. He looked up when he heard her arrive.

"Take a look at this." He told her.

She bent down and squinted into the microscope to see.

"These little fellas are only there at the beginning stage of decomposition and they seem to have been dead for a little while now. I'd say, from the bugs, that your John Doe has been dead for close to a year."

Temperance looked up.

"Thanks, Jack."

"No problemo."

"Is there anything else you wanted to tell me?"

"Not really."

She had been about to turn around when Hodgins stopped her.

"Have you heard from Booth lately?"

"What? No. I..."

She heard the sliding doors open and something inside her subconscience told her to turn around. Everything around her became a blur as her eyes fell on the person walking through the doors.

He stopped as their eyes met and locked. He was looking sheepishely at her. Even from far she could tell he was tired. She felt her rational side disconnecting from her body as she ran down the stairs and towards him.

* * *

**:-)**


	9. The Taking of a Second Chance

**A/N: Are you guys ready for the last chapter? It's close to 2,500 words of pure flufiness and a bit of angst as well. I just want to thank each and everyone of you who read this story and most of all those who reviewed and accepted my change in plot without much complaining. This second version was so much more fun to write and I hope to see you all in my next story (once I find an idea for another story).**

* * *

Booth felt something hard collide with his chest before he could realize what was happening. He felt a pair of arms wrapping itself around his neck, pulling him closer. It took him a few seconds to realize that Temperance had nearly just jumped in his arms. Instinctely, he wrapped his arms his arms around and hugged her closer.

He felt her shaking in his arms which made him wonder if she was sobbing. But no, he told himself, Temperance Brennan couldn't be sobbing. Could she? A quick flashback to a few years earlier brought back to the memory of his warehouse rescue. She had clutched to him like a lifeline and had attempted to cry but the sobs had gotten caught in her throat. But that hadn't been the same thing. She had just had one of the biggest frights of her life. So she couldn't be sobbing _now_. Could she?

"Booth." She whispered, pulling him closer if that was possible.

He heard the pain in her voice and his hold on her strengthened also. He could tell by the cracking in her voice and the rythm of her breathing that she was in fact sobbing. One hand went in her hair.

He finally pulled away after a few minutes to be able to look at her. A couple of tears had managed to fall from her eyes and Booth could see that they had already been replaced by new ones. He wiped the escaped ones.

"You're back." She said, more as a statement than a question.

"Yeah."

His voice was soft but Temperance could still hear the pain inside it.

"I really thought you had left me for good."

The words caught in his throat as he was going to answer. She had almost sounded like a little child and Booth was surprised at the way she had let her guard down, showing him once again her most vulnerable side. As he looked into her eyes, he could see right down into her soul. And what he saw surprised him even more.

He saw that same little girl who, at the age of fifteen, had been abandonned by bother her parents and her brother. Even though she now understood that, at nineteen, Russ hadn't had the maturity to take care of her, the little girl inside her still felt as though everyone had turned their backs on her.

Fifteen-year-old Tempe was used to it. She was used to being played. She had been more than unlucky in her life. That little girl who laid deep down inside Temperance had been pushed away even further by her until Temperance had made herself believe (and everybody for that matter) that she wasn't there anymore.

But today, as Booth stared into her eyes and saw all the fear mixed with relief, he knew better than to make that assumption. Fifteen-year-old Tempe was still there, just waiting for the day where she would get abandonned once again. At that second, Booth promised himself he wasn't going to let it happen. Little Tempe would never get abandonned in her life again... at least by him.

Another tear fell.

"I'll never leave you, Tempe." He told her as he wiped the escapee.

She smiled through her tears.

They were barely aware of their surroundings as they leaned in. All the hurt, the pain of seperation, the passion and most of all the love they felt towards the other was thrown into the kiss and, as Booth pulled her closer to him, he knew that he never wanted to let her go. A pang in his heart told him that it might be unrequited.

They both pulled away some time later, breathless. Looking up past his girlfriend's shoulder, Booth saw the squints gathered around on the examination platform, staring at the couple's reunion. Booth immediately looked away, back to Temperance.

"We need to talk."

She nodded.

"In your office." He immediately nodded, casting another glance at the Squint Squad.

* * *

He closed the door behind him and they stood, facing each other. The room was thick with awkwardness. Memories of a certain night flashed before their eyes. Booth cleared his throat as Temperance looked away, unable to maintain the eye contact.

"So."

Temperance looked briefly at him.

"So." She replied.

He took a few tentative steps towards her. She stepped back. He suddenly realized that the walls she had easily brought down back in the lab had now been brought up once again. She needed the space, he would give it to her. He perched himself on her desk as she sat down in her chair. He knew she hated these kind of talks. So did he. But, unfortunately, today, a talk was desperately needed.

"I'm sorry I left without telling you."

She nodded sharply.

"But I think you understand why I did it."

"Actually, no, I don't. When I ran into Cullen the day you left, he told me that I was supposed to go with you. We're partners, I work with you. I should have gone."

Booth sighed.

"I know but I needed some time away. What happened that night—"

"Don't." She cut him off, more tears appearing in her eyes.

She forced them back in. She wasn't going to let herself cry this time. Not twice in the same day.

"We have to, Bones. We need to talk about this since we'll only talk about it once. We can't just go on with our lives pretending it never happened because it _did_. It did happen, rejection did occur and both of us did get really hurt by all of that."

Temperance nodded.

"Okay. Let's talk about it then."

Her tone was sharp and Booth felt a twinge of anger towards her. Why did she always have to act so careless when it was obvious that she was far from it? Why did she always have to put walls, indestructible walls, around her that even him couldn't penetrate at times? Why did she always have to act so scared of him and their love when he had proven to her on countless occasions that he would always be there for her?

He looked up at her.

"Why do you do it?"

She looked back at him, surprised.

"Do what?"

"That." He replied, pointing at her. "Putting these walls up so you won't let me in. I thought you were past that."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh yes, you do. You keep building these huge fortress around you like you're preparing yourself for the day that I will hurt you. Come on, Bones, we've known each other for three years and have been dating for one. You should know by now that I would never _ever_ do _anything_ to hurt you. Fuck Temperance! Can't you see that I love you?"

"I..."

"No, let me talk."

Realizing his harsh tone, he immediately softened it.

"Please."

She nodded slightly.

"I really love you, Temperance, and I know that you do too. I don't doubt your love for me but I just don't understand why you keep hiding when there's nothing to be scared of _now_. I could understand at the beginning of our relationship but after a _year_? Most of your doubts about me should have been washed away by now. You think that if you keep putting these walls up that I'll eventually give up and go away. But I won't."

He paused for a split second. His mouth felt dry and his hands were slightly shaking.

"When I proposed, it was exactly to show you that. To show that I love you, that I'll never leave and, on top of it, that I wanted to spend my whole life with you. A life is a long time, Bones, in case you hadn't noticed."

She looked up to see a small smile twitching at his lips. She chuckled softly. She got up and stepped in front of him. His strong hands reached out for her and pulled her closer.

"When I left for Philadelphia, I'm not going to lie to you. I had some doubts about us. I even thought about breaking up with you even though I didn't want that. That's why I left. I needed some time away to think, to reconsider my first decision because I was pretty sure that there was another solution to our problem."

Temperance swallowed, suddenly nervous. Had he found one? Was there even another one? Had he found the solution she had searched for herself without any luck?

"Did you found one?" she asked, her voice half-stuck in her throat.

"Yeah." He replied softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

She looked up at him and saw in his eyes all the love he felt for her. She had seen that look before, especially at night but sometimes in the morning and at work, and that look had always made her feel a little scared. But today, as she looked back on these days, she was terrified of it.

"In Philadelphia, I met up with an agent. I have no clue how she got me to open up but she did. We talked a long time and she ended up consolling me. We hugged but when I went to pull away, she leaned in and tried to kiss me."

Horror struck Temperance's face and it took Booth a few seconds to realize what he had just said. He felt her begin to pull away but he quickly reached and pulled her back to him.

"_Tried_ to kiss me." He continued. "I didn't let her. I wasn't going to let her. I've never cheated on anyone in my life, I wasn't going to start with you."

He stopped, examining her expression. Though she seemed to have relaxed a bit, Booth could still see she was suspicious. After his slip-up, he couldn't blame her.

"Anyway," Booth said, hoping to drop the subject, "the more I talked to her, the more I realized how much you mean to me and how much I didn't want this single incident ruin what we have. When I hugged her, my beliefs were once again confirmed. I do want to get married but if it's not with you, then I don't want to marry.

Temperance, I love you. With all my heart. And if you don't want to get married, it's okay. I won't force it upon you. Whatever our future holds, I'll accept it. But if you ever change your mind, and I'm not saying you will, then you'll know that I'm ready for it."

Temperance swallowed, unable to say or do anything else. She hadn't known Booth felt that way towards her. She had known about his love and respect for her, but never had she expected him to give up his life long dream of getting married and starting a family. And now, just for her, he was giving up all of that. No man had ever done something like that for her.

She felt her heart beat faster. She took a deep breath.

"Let's do it."

Booth's eyes, who had been resting on his hands on her hips, snapped back up to her face.

"What?"

Temperance took another deep breath.

"Get married. Let's do it."

Booth shook his head.

"No, Bones... I told you I wasn't forcing anything upon you."

"You're not. I'm taking a decision. I feel... okay with it."

She had hesitated at the word okay and Booth knew that she was lying. She wasn't feeling okay with this. He wasn't sure quite sure what was making her say this but he knew that she wasn't ready.

Letting go of her hips, he immediately grabbed her hands.

"You don't feel okay with this. I don't know what made you take that decision."

"You. You did."

She stopped, swallowed to moisten her dry throat before speaking again.

"Nobody, and I mean _nobody,_ has ever given up something they truly wanted just for me. Here you are doing just that. You're giving up something that is really important to you, that is part of your values, what you believe in. You spent the last year giving me what I wanted. It's my turn now."

Booth sighed before chuckling softly and shaking his head.

"Temperance, you will never cease to amaze me."

Temperance felt herself blush under his gaze.

"But I could never ask that of you. You don't have to give me back everything that I have done for me. However..."

A small smile tugged at her lips.

"However what?"

Booth grinned.

"However, we _could_ meet halfway on this."

"Really?"

Booth nodded.

Temperance watched as his hand disappeared into his pocket and reappeared, seconds later, with the small velvet box she never thought she'd see again. She was surprised that he kept that box on him.

"How about we move in together." He started, opening the little box slowly.

Then, taking out the ring, he added:

"That'll give us a little taste of what marriage could be like."

He looked up from her hand to her face and saw that she was smilimg. He took that as a good sign. Looking back down at her hands, he slowly slipped the ring on her finger. He watched as she twitched at the contact of the ring.

"And we could just get engaged. Don't even think of it as an engagement ring. Just see it as a... promise ring. There will be no date setting, no wedding talks, no nothing. We're just two people engaged into their relationship, who promised to love each other no matter what and be there for one another when things get rough. And, if one day you feel comfortable enough, we'll consider the whole ceremony thing. But that only if you feel comfortable enough.

What do you say?"

He looked back up at her and watched as her face broke into a grin. A few tears he hoped were of joy filled her eyes.

"Yes." She replied, her voice softened and cracked by the emotion. "Yes."

Booth replied with a grin of his kind.

"Good."

He stood up and immediately pulled her to him. Her arms snaked their way to his neck.

"It's a promise?" He asked.

She nodded.

"It's a promise."

Their lips met once again passionately. And as the kiss continued, Booth pulled her even closer to him.

Maybe he hadn't quite gotten what he had wanted in the first place but what he had settled for was going to be as good as the first thing. He just knew it. Of course, his feeling of rejection hadn't been completely erased. It would take some time but it would eventually go away. But Temperance agreeing to be promised to one another had already helped a lot. He had taken a chance once again and, this time, things had gone in his favor.

* * *

The End

* * *


End file.
